Brian Schembri has been named conductor of the Maltese Philharmonic Orchestra.

Culture Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera told a news conference that Mro Schembri would be taking over the orchestra to help develop it in line with the government’s vision for local culture.

“The orchestra can reach new levels of excellence,” he said.

Orchestra executive chairman Sigmund Mifsud said the Mro Schembri would be an international advertisement for local music.

“Mro Schembri is internationally recognised, he has just returned from Hong Kong, where he was involved in one of his latest projects. He is widely respected,” Mr Mifsud said.

The orchestra consists of some 60 full time musicians and has an annual budget of €1.2 million. It will be embarking on a China tour later this year, followed by a series of performances in Germany next year.

Asked what work he will be undertaking first, Mro Schembri said he would be looking at the orchestra’s internal structures to analyse the way projects were chosen.

“The choice of work has at times been deficient, in terms of how it fulfils its role as a symphonic orchestra,” he said, adding that one of the main challenges would be to maintain the delicate balance between obtaining funding and public outreach.

One his part, Dr Herrera described the orchestra as a major asset in terms of the island’s cultural outreach, adding that culture was a form of “soft power”.

“Culture is a main way in which we can market our country. I used to avoid travelling on political trips, but I felt I had to in recent weeks to extend the countries cultural outreach,” he said.

Dr Herrera welcomed criticism directed at role China will play in the build up to Valletta’s stint as the European capital of culture.

“There has been criticism and it has been fair and constructive. We don’t want partisan politics to be involved in culture. We are a western country and our culture is that of a European country. However, the involvement of other countries, like China, in our cultural development will help put Malta on the international stage,” he said.